


Sleight of Hand and Twist of Fate

by adelate



Category: American Idol RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Kradam Big Bang, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-10
Updated: 2010-07-10
Packaged: 2017-10-10 11:48:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/99441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adelate/pseuds/adelate
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Even though Kris has been living and busking in New York City for almost three years already, the sheer number of people can still surprise him sometimes. It's more fun than bewildering these days, though, and he finds one of the things he likes most about his new pitch is seeing all the people come and go.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sleight of Hand and Twist of Fate

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to [speep](http://speep.livejournal.com) for the incredible art. Please, _please_ go and [tell her how wonderful she is](http://speep.livejournal.com/221531.html). The first time I saw the drawing I seriously could not stop flailing - I still find it hard to believe that one of my stories has such beautiful art to go with it! ♥
> 
> I also want to say a huge thank you to my amazing, _amazing_ betas and cheerleaders. [ihearthings_ii](http://ihearthings_ii.livejournal.com) and [cleverboots](http://cleverboots.livejournal.com), I seriously could not have finished this story without your help. Thank you for listening to me blather on about this story endlessly, for the notes and for the suggestions. You guys rock. (Thank you also to my CS betas. You know who you are. ;)) ♥ Thanks go to [cleverboots](http://cleverboots.livejournal.com) for the banner, too, which is just so _cool_. I am seriously feeling all spoiled with all these amazing contributions.
> 
> The title for this fic comes from U2's _With or Without You_, by the way. :)
> 
> I signed up for the [Kradam Big Bang](http://community.livejournal.com/kradambigbang) challenge with the intention to drop out at some point, because before this my longest fic in this fandom was just over 4,000 words and I was convinced I wouldn't be able to do 10,000 (trust me, I'm seriously boggling over the word count of this one). However, [this picture of Kris](http://i26.tinypic.com/mkc96t.jpg) made me want to write a story where Kris was a busker, one thing led to another, and... here we are.

  


Kris stumbles into his apartment, balancing groceries, his guitar case, bag and the mail in his hands as he kicks the door shut behind him. The weather has been crappy all day, the people walking past cranky and for the most part not in the mood to stop and listen, and Kris had to tune his guitar on six different occasions because of the weather before finally giving up and heading home. It's almost seven and Allison still isn't home, so Kris takes the chance to sit down and enjoy the quiet while he can. He loves his roommate but he's noticed there aren't a lot of quiet moments with her around.

He flips through the mail idly when the envelope catches his eye. It's plain white, and it says "MTA MUSIC UNDER NEW YORK" on the upper left corner. It's addressed to him, _Mr. Kristopher Allen_ neatly printed on the envelope. Kris opens it, holding his breath, and unfolds the paper within.

He's re-reading the same line for the fifth time when Allison gets back from school. "I'm home!" she yells, opening the door. Kris blinks his eyes away from the letter and turns to look at Allison. He can feel that his eyes are huge and round, and he lifts the letter mutely, waving it around.

"I got it!" he finally manages and he has to laugh, because he's happy, and yeah, it's not like it's a recording contract but he can at least concentrate on the music instead of pitches, and-

"You got it?!" Allison is properly excited and Kris grins and repeats, "I got it!" and there may be some dancing around on Allison's part (well all right, maybe Kris also does a happy little wiggle, but he'll deny it if anyone ever asks). "That is so awesome, seriously Kris, I totally knew you were gonna get it," Allison says and hugs him quickly before continuing, "Let me see the letter!"

Kris hands Allison the letter, and his face is starting to hurt because he still hasn't stopped smiling. He should call his parents, they've been waiting to know almost more than Kris has, and he's going to call in a bit, but right now he's just going to be happy sharing this with Allison.

After all, it _was_ her idea in the first place.

"I heard about this program at school today," she had said a few months back, excited. "It's for buskers; you audition and if you get it, they'll assign you a subway pitch. Seriously, Kris," she said, "You should audition! Think about it, no more fighting over the pitches with that Gokey guy, plus you wouldn't have to play outside in freak weather, and all that foot traffic? You'll make a killing, you're so good!"

"A killing is probably pushing it," Kris said, but Allison's suggestion stuck (and the idea of not having to deal with Danny Gokey, who often came across more like a street preacher than a busker, was definitely a factor, Kris could happily admit). Kris sent out his application and the required performance package and was kind of shocked when he got his invite to audition.

"You're gonna be _awesome_, Allison said. "The auditions are open to the public so I'm so gonna be there cheering you on, man. I'll bring Archie, too!"

"We only get, like, five minutes," Kris tried to protest – but not too hard, because honestly the thought of having a familiar face or two in the crowd sounded pretty nice.

"I don't care, I wanna be there for you," Allison said, poring over his invitation letter.

That was the thing about Allison, Kris thought. She was always supportive in this matter-of-fact way, without making a huge deal about it. Kris really appreciated it.

"It says you're one of, like, sixty people they're auditioning. You just gotta be better and more original than sixty people, you can totally do that!" Kris wasn't too sure about that, but she snapped her fingers at him, excited. "You know what you should do? That thing you do with Heartless. That's so freaking awesome, they're gonna be all over you."

And so on the day of the auditions Kris waited for his five minutes in front of the panel with sixty other people, ranging from singer-songwriters to violinists and group acts, all of them unbelievably good. He'd been pretty sure there was no way he was going to get picked, but apparently, based on the letter in Allison's hands now, they had liked what they had seen and heard.

"Thanks for suggesting Heartless," Kris says, because it _had_ gotten a pretty great reception from the audience, too.

Allison grins happily at him. "It was all you," she says, waves her hand dismissively and reads on. "Holy shit," she says a moment later and thumps sitting down on a kitchen chair. It wobbles a little, and Kris makes a mental note to tighten up the legs again.

"What?" he asks, trying to read the letter upside down.

"Did you see the pitch you got?!" Allison shrieks. Kris looks at her, confused, and she continues, "Oh my god, Kris, seriously, guess," because she is clearly sadistic and wants to keep him in suspense.

"Just tell me already," Kris says, because the print is too damn small and he's too excited right now to read text even if it was the right way around.

Allison's grin widens. "Times. Fucking. Square, Kris."

//

Even though Kris has been living and busking in New York City for almost three years already, the sheer number of people can still surprise him sometimes. It's more fun than bewildering these days, though, and he finds one of the things he likes most about his new pitch is seeing all the people come and go.

The New Yorkers walk by quickly, while the tourists walk slower and stop to consult their maps and just look around with big eyes. And since they're on vacation, they have the time to stop and listen to Kris play, which he loves. It's not that he doesn't like doing walk-by acts well enough – it's awesome to get to just play and hopefully briefly make someone smile with his music – but it's the best feeling ever when he manages to get a crowd going.

Today, though, the people aren't stopping by much. It's a sweltering hot day, Kris is pretty sure it's probably at least ninety degrees on his mezzanine spot, and people are rushing into the air conditioned subway cars or outside as quickly as they can. Kris' t-shirt is damp with sweat and his hair is matted against his head. It's not as bad as the platform down below, but it's enough to make a guy fantasize about a cold beer.

Kris has just finished up a song when a guy actually stops to listen. Weirdly enough he looks completely unaffected by the heat, even in his dark jeans and grey t-shirt. The guy's eyes (blue and lined with black, Kris notices, and he's pretty sure it's impossible not to) are fixed on Kris and if it was physically possible for Kris to get more flushed than he already is, he thinks he would.

"You got a request?" Kris asks out of some random urge to say something to the guy, to just _talk_ to him (he's gorgeous and Kris hasn't gotten laid in forever and then some and he _is_ only human). The guy grins at Kris and Kris notices he has freckles on his lips. He never knew that was even possible, for someone to have freckles on their lips. He wants to lick them, but licks his own, instead.

"Nah," the guy says. "Just play what you were gonna play next."

Kris' fingers start plucking the notes before his brain can even catch up, and when he realizes, _shit, Falling Slowly_, the implication of the lyrics hits him like a ton of bricks. The guy listens for a while, smirking and with a glint in his eye, and before he continues on his way he tosses a twenty in Kris' guitar case and winks.

//

"Come out to dinner with us," Allison wheedles, tightening the strap on her incredibly high-heeled shoe while making doe eyes at Kris. "Please? It'll be fun."

Kris sighs. "It's not that I don't appreciate being asked, but I'm not really looking to be the third wheel. Again. You and Archie should go and have a good time."

Allison bites her lip and Kris can tell she's debating with herself. "What aren't you telling me, Alli?" he asks, crossing his arms.

Allison sighs. "Archie has this friend, Cook, and we thought-"

"We've talked about this," Kris groans. "Blind dates are never a good idea. Ever."

"If you don't come then _he'll_ feel like a third wheel," Allison says, hopefully. "Just, please come? It'll be a just friends kind of thing, no pressure! I swear you'll like him, Cook is totally cool."

To this day Kris hasn't discovered a way to say no to Allison, and so he relents. "Fine. Fine, but it'll be a just friends kind of thing."

"Yay! Go change," Allison orders and Kris gives her a half-hearted salute and goes change into another plaid shirt. As he's changing, he idly thinks up a scenario where this Cook guy turns out to be the guy from the subway and they magically hit it off and at the end of the night have tons of stupidly hot sex.

//

Cook, as it turns out, is _not_ the guy from the subway, and he's wearing the exact same plaid shirt as Kris.

They look at each other, laugh their asses off and with the ice broken they get a couple of pre-dinner beers and join forces in teasing Allison and Archie. Kris has to admit Allison was right; Cook is cool, and Kris is happy he came along with them.

Later, their dirty plates – remnants of an amazing steak dinner – have been pushed to the side and Kris is feeling pretty awesome. Allison and Archie are talking quietly, their heads bowed together, and Kris and Cook are both nearing the bottoms of their third beers. "You know those two were totally trying to set us up," Cook says, turning his glass in his hands.

Kris eyes him warily and nods, busying himself by emptying his glass. Cook says, "You seem really cool, but-"

"I'm not your type?" Kris asks and grins.

Cook smiles back, looking relieved. "You're not my type," he agrees.

Kris feels his shoulders relax. "Good. I mean, you're a cool guy and all, but-"

"I'm also not your type?" Cook says.

Kris laughs. "Exactly."

"I'm really glad we're on the same page, here. I just wanted to, you know, clear that up in case I ever wanted to ask you to listen to my demos or something. Wouldn't want you to get the wrong idea," Cook says and grins. Kris laughs, too, and Cook continues. "I think this round's on me. Another beer?"

"Thanks, man," Kris says and Cook heads over to the bar. Allison and Archie are still wrapped up in their own conversation and Kris watches the people walking past their window for a while. A group of happy, loud people cross the street and Kris finds himself staring, because one of them is the guy from the subway, and what are the freaking odds anyway?

The subway guy is laughing with the rest of them, his arm flung over the shoulders of a guy who is maybe Kris' age. The other guy flips the subway guy off, and the subway guy laughs harder, tossing his head back with the force of it. Kris wills him to look in the window, but he never does.

When Cook returns with their drinks, Kris flushes and looks guiltily away from the subway guy walking away. He feels ridiculous and vaguely wishes he had done something.

//

For the next couple of days Kris grows increasingly frustrated with himself. Moving to New York was supposed to be a new beginning, the first step in just going for the things he wants, and for the most part he has done that. He realizes there wasn't a lot that he _could've_ done – running after some guy he doesn't even know from a restaurant wouldn't have gotten him anywhere, he _knows_ that, but it bothers him that he didn't try.

He doesn't even know why he's so focused on this one guy. He figures that if he analyzes it to death he'll probably come to the conclusion that it's not even about the guy, that he just represents something Kris didn't go for.

But deep down Kris is kind of a romantic, and he can't help but feel like seeing the guy again had meant something. So he goes out to his mezzanine spot, plays his sets day after day and hopes to see the guy again, but he doesn't. He still doesn't know what he would even do if he did, but he tells himself he would do something. Something other than blush, anyway.

It's been another day of playing, with no sightings of the subway guy. Kris has just gotten home and he jiggles the key in the lock – sometimes it sticks and there's this trick you have to do to get it to open – when someone walks out of the next door apartment, holding a letter.

"Oh man, I'm glad I caught you," he says, with a clear Australian accent. "I'm Michael, I live- well I live right there. You're Kris Allen, right?"

Kris nods, confused. "Yeah, I'm Kris." The lock snicks open and Kris pushes the door ajar. "Can I help you?"

"I've been out of the country for the past month, mate, I just got back, and this got mixed up in my mail. I'm pretty sure that's the same kinda letter I just got. The building's been sold and the new owner's pushing up the rent," Michael says and makes a face.

Kris' eyes widen and he grabs the letter, opening it quickly. Michael is right. The rent is going up, a lot, and soon. Kris leans against the doorjamb. "Shit." He rubs a hand across his face. There's no way he and Allison can cover this, she's already struggling with tuition.

"Man, I'm really sorry about this, I brought it over as soon as I could."

Kris nods. "No, it's not your fault. Thanks for, you know. Bringing this over. Sucks for everybody, right?" he says.

"No shit," Michael sighs. "Anyway. Have a good one, regardless," he says, and heads back to his own apartment.

"You too," Kris says absent-mindedly. He nudges the door open and goes in, too, reading the letter over, trying to figure out what to do.

When Allison gets home later, she finds Kris sitting at the kitchen table, trying to make calculations.

"What's going on?" she asks and sits down, too.

"Our rent is going up," he says glumly, pushing the letter towards Allison. She snatches it up and reads it, her mouth falling open.

"We can't afford this. There's no way, Kris."

"I _know_," Kris sighs. He leans back in his chair and looks at Allison, who's chewing on a cuticle, looking worried. "I know," he says again, and wraps an arm around Allison's shoulders. "But we'll figure something out. This place is crap, but it's _our_ crappy place."

Allison hugs him, wrapping her arms around his waist, and Kris doesn't even mind the mouthful of red hair he gets.

//

"I could get another job, or ask for more shifts at work," Allison suggests later. They're sitting cross legged on their old but comfy couch, eating pizza and weighing their options.

Kris frowns as the cheese burns the roof of his mouth and shakes his head. "No way. You need to focus on school."

"I can totally do schoolwork behind a Blockbusters desk," Allison tries, but Kris shakes his head again.

"If anyone is getting another job it should be me," he says, sighing. "I've been way too lucky getting by with just playing, anyway."

"No!" Allison flails with her pizza. "You worked really hard to get into the MUNY program; you can't just let that go!"

"Well we need money," Kris says, taking a – more careful – bite of his slice. "I'm not experienced in robbing banks. Do you have a psychic that could tell us the winning lottery numbers?"

Allison pouts, but then brightens up. "We could get a new roommate. I'll bet you there's someone at school who's looking for a place. Seriously."

Kris thinks about it. They have been insanely lucky with the apartment so far. His friend Cale knows the guy who owns – well, used to own, Kris supposes – the place, and when Kris had been planning his move from Arkansas, Cale had called in a favor and gotten Kris the place for a really low rent. Kris wasn't entirely sure what Cale had done to be owed that big, nor did he necessarily want to know, but he was grateful for the apartment nonetheless.

The place had been way too big for just Kris, but his mama was friends with Mrs. Iraheta, who had told her that her daughter Allison needed a place to stay when her school started, so it had all worked out.

The apartment even has a small room he and Allison use as storage, but if they moved things around… "Huh," he says, and apparently that's all Allison needs to hear.

"Leave it to me! I'll totally find someone awesome. You trust my judgment, right?"

Kris makes a face, but he's out playing almost every day and he knows Allison is more likely to find someone suitable in time. "Sure," he says.

"Yay!" Allison smiles and leans back on the couch, stuffing her face with pizza, and that's that.

//

The next day Allison goes off to school with a newly determined look, and Kris goes to work as usual. The financial worries slightly pushed the subway guy out of his mind for the previous night, but when Kris is setting up, the subway guy is back on his mind and he can't help but keep a hopeful eye on the crowd.

It's a good day – there are a lot of tourists around and they're feeling generous. Kris has fun playing and he even throws in a cover of Baby One More Time, which the tourists seem to love. By the time Kris finishes his set with a mash-up he's been playing with, combining Falling Slowly and With or Without You, the mezzanine is crowded and there's a circle around him, and Kris remembers exactly why he loves doing this so much. He thanks the crowd, and as they disperse Kris gathers up his things, snapping his guitar case shut.

The city has been under a heat wave for a few days and it's easy to get dehydrated, so Kris stops to finish off the remainder of his bottle of water that went warm hours ago. With his head tilted back he doesn't even see the guy snatch his guitar case before he feels it, yanked from right against his foot. Kris' stomach drops. He doesn't even care about the money that's in the case, even though there's more of it than usual, but that's his guitar, his livelihood. His _parents_ gave him that guitar, he can't lose it, and before he can even think about it he's chasing after the guy.

The chase doesn't last for long before the thief takes a tumble, tripping over someone's foot. Kris catches up, his heart pounding, and he thinks he might be shaking a little.

It isn't until then that he realizes the thief didn't trip so much as he was tripped, and there he is again, the subway guy, and he's _sitting on the guy who tried to steal his guitar_. The guy is holding Kris' guitar case – his blessedly unharmed guitar case – and he grins hugely up at Kris, a mischievous spark in his blue eyes. "I think this is yours," he says and holds the case out to Kris.

Kris takes the case wordlessly, clutching onto it. A crowd gathers around them, among them a transit cop. The subway guy gets up from the thief so the cop can take care of him, and he and Kris give statements before Kris can even fully wrap his head around what just happened.

"Thank you," he finally manages, when the people in the crowd are starting to get bored and moving on. "Seriously, thank you so much, you don't even know- _Thank you_." Kris doesn't think he can say it enough, and he still hasn't stopped clutching his guitar case.

The subway guy looks pleased, but he ducks his head a little, rubbing the back of his neck. "Hey, I couldn't let some douchebag deprive people of your music," he says and smiles. Kris finds himself smiling stupidly back, because of all the perfect things to say that might be the sweetest.

"Can I- Are you busy, can I get you something as thanks? Coffee? Dinner? A boat? Seriously, this guitar means the world to me. Thank you."

The guy laughs. "You can stop saying it, but I'm glad I could help." He chews on his lower lip, contemplating, and then seems to come to a decision. "Sure. Coffee. I'm not much of a sailor, and I just had dinner," he grins.

Kris grins back. "There's a cool place I know not that far away. My name's Kris, by the way," he says, almost an afterthought. "Allen. Kris Allen."

The subway guy falls into step with him, their strides matching easily even though he's clearly taller than Kris. His arm brushes against Kris' when he says, "I'm Adam."

//

When Kris catches himself thinking how insanely attractive Adam is for the third time in the span of five minutes, he's starting to feel more than a little bit pathetic. But he just can't help it. Adam's got these blue eyes that make Kris feel flustered with their focus, and an easily smiling mouth, and he's big and wide and _sexy_. And yeah, Kris has been thinking about him for days, but he's starting to realize his fantasies weren't actually living up to reality, which is kind of throwing him for a loop. He's pretty sure it's meant to be the other way around.

Adam orders tea that Kris happily pays for, as well as his own coffee, and they sit down at a small table in a corner. Adam blows on his drink to cool it, and Kris tries to pry his eyes away from the O Adam's lips form.

"I liked your mash-up," Adam says, and Kris feels stupidly grateful that Adam started the conversation, because everything Kris was thinking in his head felt lame.

"Really? Thanks," he says and smiles. "I didn't see you in the crowd."

"Oh I wasn't, not really. You had a good crowd going and I was just coming down. I heard the last half of it. It was really cool. You're really creative," Adam says. His eyes are on Kris' again and seriously, Kris feels like Adam's staring right into him.

Kris licks his lips and takes a sip of his coffee to try to hide how flustered he is. "Thanks, that's really nice. I love taking a song and kind of figuring it out, you know, like almost taking it apart and then putting it back together. And sometimes they fit together with other songs and it's just, it's- I really like it," Kris finishes and wishes he'd been born less lame and boring.

Adam doesn't look bored, though. He looks like he's listening, and he's nodding along to what Kris is saying. If he's into music too, Kris thinks, that's it. If he's into music he's the perfect guy. "I totally get that," Adam says and he smiles at Kris, looking excited. He gestures at Kris' guitar case, where it's leaning against the table. "I wish I could play an instrument, but I'm too impatient to learn. But songs are so- I love how you can put your own spin on pretty much anything. It kind of makes singing stuff the same way over and over again kind of boring, don't you think?"

"You sing?" Kris asks, and Adam laughs.

"Yeah, you could say that." He doesn't elaborate, and takes a sip of his tea.

Kris' curiosity beats out trying to seem cool in front of Adam. "Where do you sing?" he asks.

"Wicked," he says. "I'm an understudy for Fiyero."

"Seriously?" Kris' eyes go big. "That's awesome. You must be good. Do you like it?"

Adam shrugs a little. "I like the cast. And it's something I always wanted to do, since I was a kid. I loved dress-up and I was in all the school musicals, you know- kind of a drama kid."

Kris thinks back to what Adam said before. "But the repetition gets boring?" Adam looks at him sharply and Kris blushes and looks down. "Sorry, it's none of my business. It just sounded like there was a but coming."

"Don't apologize," Adam says and Kris looks back up. Adam's looking at him, a curious expression on his face. "You're exactly right. It just feels like… like there should be something more, you know?" Adam leans back and says, abruptly, "You know what? It's too damn hot for tea. I could really go for some ice cream. Can I take you to this great place I know?"

At that point Adam could have asked Kris if he could take him to the moon on his spaceship and Kris would have cheerfully agreed, and that's how he ends up with Adam headed for the subway to Brooklyn for what Adam says is the best ice cream in the world.

They have to wait for the subway for a while after they get to the station. The platform is probably equal to the fifth circle of hell as far as the heat goes, and Kris' t-shirt is damp with sweat and sticking to his back. He longs for the air conditioned subway car, and Adam's suggestion of getting ice cream seems even better right at that moment.

"How long have you been living in New York?" Adam asks. "I get the feeling you're not originally from here," he continues, grinning.

Kris laughs. "I can't get rid of my accent, apparently."

"You shouldn't," Adam says. "It's kind of charming."

Kris grins widely and ducks his head. "I. Thanks. Um, almost three years," he says, answering Adam's question. "I'm from Arkansas, originally."

"Arkansas," Adam repeats thoughtfully. "Yeah, never been there," he laughs. "What's it like? In Arkansas?"

"It's nice," Kris starts to say, and then, thank god, the subway gets there and they get into the crowded but blissfully cool car. The seats are either occupied or just look grungy enough that Kris – and by the look of his face, Adam as well – would rather not take them, so they scoot near the opposing doors and grab hold of the support poles.

"Just nice?" Adam asks, prompting Kris to continue.

Kris shrugs as the doors close and the car jerks into movement. "I don't really miss it all that much, to be honest. I mean, obviously I miss my parents, you know, family and friends. But it's been- I've really loved living here, doing what I know I want to do."

Adam nods with something like approval. "It feels good creating a place for yourself," he says, and Kris nods empathically.

"Yes! Exactly."

The subway stops and they maneuver around the people getting off and on. When they start moving again, Kris asks, "What about you? Are you from here?"

"Nah," Adam smiles. "I lived in LA before I moved out here to be with my boyfriend. I'm from San Diego, originally." Kris feels his face fall. Of course Adam's not single, of _course_ he's not. The gorgeous, sexy Adams of the world who save guitars and have freckles on their lips and get how amazing music is are never single.

Adam continues, not noticing the shift in Kris' mood. "We had this great place in Manhattan, but he turned out to be kind of a jerk so I'm crashing with my brother Neil in Brooklyn, now."

Kris' heart picks up speed. "Sorry your boyfriend turned out to be a jerk," he says, but he's not sure how convincing he is, because he can feel a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Adam shrugs. "I figure things happen and you make the most of them. What's the point of regrets, right? Besides, I like New York. So many cute guys," he says, eyes locked on Kris', and Kris swallows, because that was definitely flirting, right there.

"I know what you mean," Kris says, not looking away because if Adam's flirting, Kris isn't going to be the one to put an end to it. Adam looks surprised for a short moment, short enough that Kris almost doesn't notice before it melts away into delight.

"Well, Kris Allen," Adam starts to say, when the car takes a sudden turn and Kris stumbles. Adam's arm comes around him, steadying, and then drops to the small of Kris' back, making his spine tingle. Kris had reflexively caught Adam's shoulder for support and he finds himself standing closer to Adam than he expected. Normally if he fell on someone like that he would apologize and step back quickly, but this isn't _normal_, far from it, and Kris feels like pushing his luck, so he stays put and looks up at Adam, challenging. Adam's eyes darken a bit and he rubs his thumb gently along Kris' back. "You are surprising," Adam says, his voice soft with something like wonder, and then he leans in, soft lips pressing against Kris'.

Kris' breath catches in his throat before he sighs, relaxing against Adam, eyes closing. Adam's lips close around Kris' lower lip and it feels so good, _sweet_ and almost chaste. Kris is still holding on to Adam's shoulder and he grabs a fistful of Adam's t-shirt and tugs him downward, pushing himself up on his tiptoes so he can get closer. Adam smells amazing, like some cologne Kris doesn't recognize but knows will always remind him of this in the future.

Kris gives a tentative lick at Adam's upper lip and it doesn't take a lot of coaxing to get Adam to open up, to deepen the kiss, and as he licks into his mouth Kris can taste the sweetness of the tea Adam was drinking before. Adam hums happily and tightens his hold around Kris' waist, and they kiss, unhurried and sweet and wet, familiarizing, until the subway making another stop forces them to pull apart.

Kris ducks his head, grinning. "That was…" he starts to say, but has to pause to find the right words. His lips are tingling and Adam's hand is still on his lower back and there are _people watching them_ and he doesn't even care right then, it's just another thing adding to how he feels – exhilarated and alive and excited about his life in a way that he hasn't been in a while.

"That definitely was," Adam agrees, grinning as well, and Kris decides he doesn't need a word for whatever this is, right now. That's new, too, and he feels reckless, like he's on the top of a rollercoaster right that second before it goes into a downward loop, and he's loving every second of it.

A couple of seats have freed up and they move to sit down. Kris' cheeks feel warm when he thinks back to the kiss, and when he steals a glance at Adam, he catches Adam doing the same at him, and the whole thing is just so absurd and the excitement is still tickling in his gut enough that Kris has to laugh. Adam joins in, his laugh an easy and happy sound, and they relax into their seats. The subway car sways and Adam's leg presses warmly against Kris' and they're quiet for a little bit, not uncomfortably.

"Living with your brother, huh?" Kris asks after a while, and Adam makes an affirmative sound. "How's that going?"

Adam laughs and shifts in his seat, turning towards Kris and resting his arm on the back of the seats. Kris thinks if he moved his head now, Adam's fingers would brush against the back of his neck. "Do you have a brother? A _younger_ brother?"

Kris grins. "Yeah. Daniel," he says.

"Okay. Picture an apartment about the size of a closet," Adam says. "And then picture living in that closet with your little brother, who's kind of annoying most of the time and has an opinion on everything, and then not being able to bitch about it because he's doing you this huge favor letting you crash there in the first place."

"Ouch," Kris says, but he can't help laughing because Adam doesn't sound all that serious about it.

Adam laughs too, and continues. "Nah, as bad as it could be… it's actually going okay. My brother's pretty funny."

"Mine's a cheerleader," Kris deadpans and Adam cracks up.

They trade stories about their brothers for a good half an hour, and when the subway pulls up at their stop, Adam is finishing a story about Neil at a rally with snarky picket signs and Kris is laughing so hard he thinks he might pull something.

The ice cream place is a short walk away from the subway station, and the closer to it they get the more excited Adam seems to get. He catches Kris' look and looks a little sheepish. "Ice cream is kind of a guilty pleasure," he admits. "That, and Gossip Girl."

"Fair enough," Kris says and smiles, nudging his arm against Adam's. Adam grins at him happily and Kris is so distracted by him that he nearly walks past the ice cream shop door.

//

Adam's clearly a regular, which Kris smartly gathers from the "Hi, Adam," the woman behind the counter says when he walks in.

"Hey, Megan." Adam smiles at her and goes to study all the different flavors. "This is Kris," he adds, gesturing a hand towards him and Kris waves at Megan. He's not really used to being on first name – or any name, come to that – basis with people in stores or coffee shops or the like, even if most of them have nametags.

"Hi, Kris," she says. She has a friendly smile and a colorful tattoo sleeve and Kris likes her immediately.

"Hi. It's nice to meet you, Megan," Kris says, because his mama taught him to be polite.

"Awww, that is so sweet," Megan says and her smile widens. "Go ahead and take your time. Adam always does." She grins at Adam.

"I can't help it," Adam groans. "There's so much to choose from."

Adam is right, there's a ton of different kinds of ice cream, but Kris picks his quickly and Megan gets to work. "See, it can be done," she teases Adam and he sighs in exaggerated exasperation, but Kris can tell they do this a lot. He wonders if they're friends outside of this place.

"Megan's the owner," Adam tells Kris while he's studying the various flavors, chewing his lower lip in concentration. Finally he gives up. "Megan, please, just surprise me?"

"He always does this," Megan says and grins at Kris. "It's gotten to the point where I decide the flavor for him the second he walks in."

Adam laughs. "So that's how you pick for me so quickly! Mystery solved."

Megan picks something for Adam that has 'chocolate' in the title at least three times, and adds sprinkles on top. Adam looks enamored. "You're a genius," he says. Kris insists on paying for the ice cream too, even though Adam tries to argue that it was his idea to go there in the first place. Megan puts an end to it by declaring it's on the house, to Kris' confusion. Adam grins and leans over the counter to kiss her on the cheek. "Thanks, Megan. Do you have plans tonight?"

Megan glances at Kris and grins at Adam. "Neil's at my place, watching Ryder until I get off work. I hired a babysitter after, so we can actually go out tonight."

"Have fun. And don't do anything I wouldn't do," Adam grins.

"Megan's dating your brother?" Kris asks when they're outside, walking around slowly, eating their ice cream cones. It's mostly dark by now but it's still warm, and the ice cream tastes amazing. Kris looks at Adam, who's licking at his ice cream and making happy noises, tongue flat against the cone to sweep up the sprinkles, and Kris can feel himself blushing and heat twisting low in his belly.

"Uhhuh," Adam says around the cone, taking a little bite and swallowing before he continues. "Weirdly enough it seems to be working, too. I didn't really think Neil would ever end up with a single mom, but apparently he's actually pretty great with Ryder, too. Ryder's her son," Adam adds as an afterthought, as if for a moment there he thought Kris would know exactly who Ryder is.

"I figured," Kris says and takes a bite of his cone. Adam grins and looks at Kris from the corner of his eye, and Kris gets the feeling he's up to no good.

"You wanna try mine?" Adam asks, innocently enough, and Kris smiles.

"Sure, I guess?"

  


Adam grins delightedly, takes a little bite out of his cone and before Kris can even realize, Adam's pressing their mouths together, the chocolate melting between their mouths. Kris groans and presses closer into the kiss, his free hand tangling in Adam's hair. The coldness of the ice cream and the hot wet heat of Adam's mouth feel intoxicating, and heat coils in Kris' stomach.

Adam pulls back from the kiss but his forehead is pressed against Kris and when he speaks his voice is low and it feels like it's sliding under Kris' skin, heating up every square inch. "So my brother's out tonight. Please tell me you wanna come up with me?"

Kris vaguely realizes they've stopped in front of an apartment building. And he knows he should be saying no, he just _really_ met Adam today, Adam could be some serial killer or whatever, but Kris also knows there's just no way he's going to say no. He wants this, he wants _Adam_ too much, his skin tingles with want and he's already half hard just at the idea of it, of all the things he can do to Adam, all the things Adam can do to _him_-

"_Yes_," Kris breathes out, pressing closer to Adam, and they kiss again, stumbling towards the door.

//

Kris finds out quickly that Adam really, really likes kissing. Going up the stairs takes forever because they stop every few steps so that Adam can press Kris against the wall and kiss him hotly, his thigh hard between Kris'. Kris gives as good as he gets, grabbing Adam's hair and pulling his mouth hard against his own.

They've just gotten to Adam's apartment door when Kris' phone rings. Adam opens the door and they go in, Kris checking to see who's calling him while he sets his guitar down. When he sees it's Allison, he knows he's going to have to answer or she's going to worry when he doesn't come home.

"Ignore it," Adam says plaintively, nuzzling Kris' neck and giving the skin a little nip with his teeth.

"My roommate's gonna worry if I do. I'll be really quick," Kris promises, biting back a groan and answering his phone with a "Hey."

"Where _are_ you? You were supposed to be home like three hours ago!" Allison starts immediately. Adam is trying to tug Kris' shirt off while kissing his neck and Kris is trying really hard not to moan into the phone.

He isn't entirely successful.

On the phone, Allison gasps with delight and shrieks, "Oh my god, are you _getting laid_?! Forget I ever called! Have fun!" She hangs up on him and Kris sighs with relief – embarrassment over Allison instantly knowing what he was up to will come later – and lets his phone drop on a nearby pile of clothes.

"That _was_ quick," Adam murmurs into Kris' ear, biting down on the earlobe, and then Kris has to kiss Adam again because he just went way too many seconds without it.

They pull at each other's clothes, getting their shirts off between heated, wet kisses and Adam maneuvering them towards what Kris assumes is his bed. It's covered in clothes and Adam sweeps them down to the floor in one go before sitting down and pulling Kris into the V of his legs, undoing Kris' belt and fly before Kris stops him.

"Wait, let me-" he says, and slides down on his knees. He looks up at Adam, whose eyes have gone dark. "I've been wanting to do this since the first time I saw you," Kris says, and it's entirely true. In fact, it's been his favorite fantasy for the past few days, the one that gets him hard – and off – the fastest, just picturing himself getting on his knees for Adam and letting him fuck his mouth. Sometimes he even fantasizes about doing it for Adam at the subway station; pictures Adam dragging him off to a dark corner somewhere, where anyone could walk by and see, and pushing Kris to his knees.

But this is just as good, almost better, and Kris mouths Adam through his jeans, pressing his tongue hard against the fly while he undoes Adam's belt. When Kris looks back up, Adam's still looking at him with dark eyes, like he's suddenly not sure what he's allowed to do, so Kris takes Adam's hand and moves it to his head. His voice has gone raspy with want when he says, "I like my hair pulled, so be as rough as you want."

Adam groans and grips Kris' hair tight, and _damn_ Kris has missed this. He undoes the fly of Adam's jeans quickly and Adam lies back and lifts his hips so Kris can pull the jeans and his underwear down.

Kris' mouth actually waters, and he'd be amused by it if he wasn't so damn turned on. Adam is big, bigger than Kris even anticipated (and those were some pretty wishful fantasies he's been having), and completely hard. Kris spends a happy moment licking at Adam's balls and the underside of his cock, tracing the tip of his tongue along the vein, before he leans in to lick up pre-come from the tip, closing his mouth around it, and Adam shudders underneath him, his grip on Kris' hair tightening.

Kris shivers – he wasn't lying about liking this – and hums happily around Adam's cock, hot and heavy on his tongue. He relaxes into it and takes Adam deeper. The head of Adam's cock is nudging at Kris' throat and the grip on his hair tightens even more. Adam is gasping on the bed, his hips twisting up, and Kris lets him set the pace, more than happy to let Adam fuck his mouth. Kris grips the base of Adam's cock, jerking him, and sure the angle is a little weird but judging by the sounds Adam is making, Kris is pretty sure he's doing okay – and also that this is the hottest thing ever.

Adam's thighs are trembling and he pushes Kris off suddenly, catching his breath, and gasps out, "I don't wanna come yet." Kris nods but kisses the tip once more, just because he can. Adam lets go of Kris hair and he misses the feeling instantly. Then something seems to occur to Adam and he looks at Kris hopefully. "You do bottom, right?"

"At the risk of sounding kind of pathetic, I'll do anything you want me to," Kris says, nuzzling Adam's thigh.

"Fuck you're hot," Adam breathes and tries to get out of his pants, which turns into a struggle since he's still wearing his boots. Kris helpfully tugs off Adam's boots and Adam grins, kicking his pants next to the pile of clothes from the bed. Then he frowns. "Why are you still wearing pants?"

Kris can't think of a good reason, so he gets rid of them quickly and then lets himself be pulled to the bed, flush against Adam. Adam's cock is slick against his own and Kris groans and rolls his hips for friction when Adam kisses him again.

"I can't believe how fucking hot you are," Adam says against Kris' neck, carefully scraping his teeth along it before he flips them over, miraculously not causing them to fall off his small bed. Adam's weight feels amazing over Kris and Kris shudders, grabbing a fistful of Adam's hair and trying to roll his hips up to rub up against Adam.

Kris can feel Adam grin against his skin and it really shouldn't be as hot as it is, but it makes Kris' breath hitch in his throat, right under Adam's mouth. Adam grabs hold of Kris' hips and pins him down. "_Stay_," he says, punctuating the order by nipping on the skin underneath Kris' jaw before getting up and rummaging on a nearby table for something.

Kris takes the opportunity to watch Adam. He's bent over slightly, and even though the room is dim, Kris can see the freckles on Adam's arms. The expanse of skin on display is too tempting and Kris can't help himself. He turns on his side, sliding his hand along Adam's hip, and Adam looks at him, a little grin playing on his lips. Kris grins back and moves his hand to the curve of Adam's ass.

"I thought I said stay," Adam says, teasing, and gets back on the bed with a bottle of lube and a condom. Kris lays back and grins up at Adam as Adam straddles his hips, groaning when Adam slowly rubs up against him.

"Maybe I'm just not good with instructions," Kris says and leans up on an elbow so he can loop his other arm around Adam, pulling him in for a kiss. Adam makes a pleased sound and licks into Kris' mouth, tongue curling around Kris', teasing and slow and heady.

"We'll have to fix that," Adam says when he pulls away, kissing Kris' chin. "Turn around."

Adam lifts himself up long enough that Kris can turn around. Not doing it was never even a consideration, and as soon as Kris is lying down, Adam is pressing against his back, his cock hard against Kris' ass. Kris pushes backwards and Adam presses his mouth against the back of Kris' neck, scraping his teeth along the skin. "Now stay put," Adam says, his voice low but firm.

Kris wiggles a little and Adam retaliates by closing his teeth on Kris' skin harder, and Kris can't help but groan. He wants to rub up against Adam's sheets but they're soft and slippery and there's just nowhere near enough friction, so all he can do is wait while Adam kisses his way down Kris' spine.

Adam palms Kris' ass, dropping little kisses on the sensitive skin, and Kris groans into a pillow, pushing his ass back, wanting more. Adam grips Kris' hips hard and presses him down, and Kris can feel Adam's grin against the swell of his ass before he moves lower, nudging his nose against the skin behind Kris' balls.

Adam licks his way upward, his tongue teasing and Kris is absurdly reminded of Adam eating his ice cream. Kris forgets all about Adam's order to stay put and props himself up on his elbows, trying to push back to meet Adam's tongue. His breath is coming quicker and he whimpers when he feels Adam's tongue push into him, Adam's thumb rubbing slowly along his perineum. Kris is so hard he can't even think straight, all he can do is fall back down on the bed, let his legs fall further apart and let Adam use his apparently magical tongue until Kris is a whimpering puddle on the bed, trying futilely to rub against the sheets for release.

"So fucking hot," Adam growls against the curve of Kris' ass, and Kris would say something but just trying to _breathe_ is taking up most of his brain capacity right now. He hears the snick of a cap opening and then there's a slick finger pushing inside him. Kris was watching Adam's hands before; his nails are painted black and his fingers are long and wide with rings on nearly all of them, and the image of one of them inside him is brain-meltingly hot.

Kris props himself back up on his elbows and his head falls between his arms, his breath feeling hot against his skin. His breath sounds heavy and loud even to himself and when Adam pushes in a second finger, there's a desperate needy sound that Kris doesn't realize is coming from him for a moment. Adam's two fingers feel huge and slick and _perfect_ and Kris tries helplessly to push up against them.

Adam is taking his time with Kris, slowly scissoring his fingers, loosening Kris up. Heat is crawling all over Kris' skin and he feels like he's losing his mind already, and when Adam brushes his finger against Kris' prostate he can't help but yell, scrambling backwards for more because there has to be more, he _needs_ more. Adam gives it to him, shifting upwards and wrapping his free hand around Kris' cock, jerking slowly. Adam's fingers are still inside Kris and he kisses Kris' neck softly as he angles his fingers, brushing against Kris' prostate again, and again, and again, until Kris is thrashing on the bed between Adam's hands, his throat sore from his screams, and coming so hard his vision goes black.

Adam lets him ride it out, and when Kris can make himself think again, Adam's fingers are still scissoring inside him. Kris feels completely boneless; Adam is hard and pressing against his thigh, his mouth open over a patch of Kris' shoulder. Adam pushes in a third finger and Kris groans, turning his head, which to Adam is apparently an invitation, because he pushes himself up and kisses Kris, catching Kris' lower lip between his teeth and grinning at him before practically fusing their mouths together. Kris is pretty sure he could kiss Adam forever, and the feel of Adam's fingers moving inside him is just starting to feel amazing again when suddenly they're gone.

Kris whimpers into the kiss in disappointment and when Adam pulls back, Kris turns his head and watches as Adam fumbles for the condom; he finds it and puts it on after tearing the packet open quickly. Adam groans, stroking up and down his cock, and reaches for the bottle of lube again, slicking himself up. Then, for one blissful moment, Adam's fingers are back and Kris finds himself shifting back to meet them, eyes closing and his forehead resting against his forearm. All too soon Adam's fingers are gone again, but Adam is shifting behind Kris, whispering things, dirty dirty things in Kris' ear that are driving him insane, and Kris feels crazy and completely wanton and it feels _good_.

Then _finally_ Adam is sliding inside him in one smooth slide. Kris feels completely stretched out with Adam's cock inside him, Adam's _so big_, and the feeling is just delicious. Adam is pressed against Kris' back, giving Kris time to adjust to the feel of Adam's cock inside him. "Move," Kris groans. "Fuck, please just move." Adam does, pulling back so slowly it's driving Kris crazy and then pushing back in, picking up the pace as he does it again, and the slick slide of Adam's cock feels less uncomfortable and more _amazing_ with every thrust.

Kris had expected Adam to be kind of a talker in bed, but he hadn't been prepared for the stream of murmurs against his skin, telling Kris exactly how he feels inside, how tight and hot; how beautiful he looks on Adam's bed when Adam fucks into him; how the sounds Kris is making drive Adam crazy; how Adam is going to make him come so hard Kris won't be able to remember his own name. Kris is getting harder with every single word Adam says – dirty talk in bed has always been a turn-on for him, even though he's not much of a talker himself, and Adam is good at it, just _filthy_, and Kris feels surrounded by Adam, by his skin, his words, his hands.

Kris shifts and moves his hand to stroke himself, but Adam catches his hand and murmurs low right next to Kris' ear, "Let me." Then, impossibly, he wraps his arms around Kris' waist and hauls him up until the backs of Kris' thighs are on Adam's, Kris' back flush against Adam's chest. Adam is completely inside Kris; the feeling is overwhelming, and when Adam wraps his hand around Kris' cock, jerking him, Kris lets his head fall back to Adam's shoulder and rolls his hips, fucking himself on Adam's cock. Adam shudders underneath him and Kris turns his head, mouthing at Adam's neck while he keeps his hips moving. Kris' legs shake with the strain and he's close, so close. Adam turns his head to kiss Kris and when Kris comes it's unexpected and feels like rolling waves, neverending and almost painfully good. Adam kisses him throughout it, swallowing Kris' moans, and then he's coming too, groaning into Kris' mouth, hips bucking.

They collapse on the bed, breathing hard. Adam pulls slowly out of Kris and ties up the condom, dropping it somewhere that Kris can't see.

"I'll be right back," Adam says and drops a kiss on Kris' shoulder. He gets up and Kris watches the expanse of Adam's back until he disappears into what Kris assumes is the bathroom. He can hear the sink running and then Adam comes back, damp washcloth in hand. He climbs back on the bed and Kris accepts the washcloth gratefully, cleaning himself up. When he's done, Adam throws the washcloth away and pulls Kris to him, and Kris has to smile because he just feels _happy_ \- and it doesn't hurt that he just had the best orgasms he's had pretty much ever. "You're amazing," he tells Adam, and Adam grins and kisses him, slow and relaxed.

"You were pretty unbelievable, yourself," Adam says and Kris burrows close to him, face against his chest. Adam's breathing has steadied and he feels warm and solid against him, and Kris relaxes and falls asleep.

//

Kris wakes up early, blinking against the sunlight on his face. It takes him a second to remember where he is, but then his surroundings and the used feel of his body slot things into place. Adam shifts beside him, burrowing his face in his pillow, and Kris takes a moment to watch him. Adam's eyeliner is smudged, but not much more so than it had been when they met the day before. He has creases from his pillow pressed on his face, his mouth looks soft and sweet and Kris kind of wants to lean in and kiss him, so he does.

Adam makes a little pleased sound and presses closer, sighing sleepily. He blinks his eyes open and Kris grins. "Morning," Kris says.

"Mmmm," Adam says and burrows his face against the crook of Kris' neck, breathing in. "What time is it?" he asks, and Kris checks his watch.

"Around seven," he tells Adam, and Adam sighs.

A moment later he tenses. "Shit. Neil's going to be back soon."

Kris can feel his face falling a bit. He's comfortable here, in Adam's arms, in his bed, and he doesn't want to go, but he has to start getting back too – he needs to change before heading out to play, and the subway ride is going to take a while. "I should go, anyway," Kris says and then pauses, a bit awkwardly. "I, um. This was really great. I mean, not just the sex, although, wow, but. The whole thing. I'm really glad I met you."

Adam smiles at him, looking sleepy and adorable, and Kris reaches out and brushes back hair that's fallen on his forehead. Adam turns his head to nuzzle Kris' hand and Kris melts a little. "It _was_ great," Adam says and grins. "You're an amazing guy, Kris."

Kris is sorely tempted to stay in bed and just make out with Adam for a while longer, screw morning breath, and he has to make himself get up and get dressed. Adam's pants are on the floor, and when he's putting on his shoes, Kris can see Adam's cellphone half fallen out of one of the pockets. Kris reaches for it and picks it up. "I'm gonna just..." he says and programs his number into Adam's phone. "That's me, Kris Allen." Kris says, handing the phone to Adam. "I'd really like it if you called me."

Adam takes the phone and looks at Kris with an expression Kris can't decipher as Kris picks up his guitar case and cellphone. He walks Kris to the door, not bothering covering himself up, and kisses Kris goodbye, lingering and sweet. "See you around, Kris," Adam says, opening the door for Kris.

"See you around, Adam," Kris says and leaves. After a moment the door snicks closed behind Kris and he makes his way downstairs. Outside, on the ground in front of the steps, he spots two discarded ice cream cones and has to laugh out loud. He's in a good mood for the entire way home, and he's pretty sure he freaks out at least a couple of people on the subway by smiling incessantly and humming happy tunes to himself, bouncing his feet.

//

By the time Kris gets back home, Allison has mercifully left for school. Kris showers and changes his clothes, loving the soreness of his muscles. His thoughts are constantly escaping back to Adam and he turns his ringer all the way up when he leaves the apartment, jumping when it goes off as he's setting up his pitch.

Kris passed a bar on his way to the station with a sign outside advertising their open mic night, and before his phone rang he'd been very happily immersed in a daydream where Adam calls him and they go out and listen to singers, mostly crappy ones but some good ones too, and they talk and laugh and make out in a dark booth and at some point go up to the mic and sing, too, and everyone loves their performances. And then they leave and walk to Kris' place – Kris pictured some handholding here and tried not to feel too lame and girly about how nice he found the thought – and then they go up and do dirty, dirty things all over again.

Kris fumbles the phone quickly out of his pocket, trying to push the mental image of Adam pinning him down on his kitchen table aside. He tries not to be too disappointed when he sees it's Allison calling. "Hey, Alli," he says, answering the phone.

"Geez, I'm really happy to hear your voice too, Kris," she says.

"Sorry," he says, " I was just…"

"Ooh, are you waiting for your mystery guy to call? You _are_, aren't you?"

Kris sighs. It's hopeless to even try to lie to her. "Maybe?" he says, and Allison shrieks happily at the other end.

"Tell me all about him!" she demands.

Kris bites his lower lip. Usually he would be happy to tell Allison about the things that happen to him (although not the graphic details because really, she doesn't need to know those things), but the day with Adam feels special, and he doesn't want to share it with anyone else, at least not yet.

"Maybe later," Kris says. "It's just. I really like him, and I don't want to jinx it."

"Oh my god, that is so cute." Kris can hear Allison grinning. "Anyway, that's not actually why I called. I'm interviewing some people the day after tomorrow. If you can make it home for five that day you could meet them too?"

"I think I should be able to swing that," Kris says. "Listen, I gotta finish setting up and start playing though. See you later, Alli."

"Cool," Allison says and hangs up. Kris reluctantly sets his phone on silent – though he keeps the vibrate on – and pockets his phone. When he ends his set later and checks his phone, there are no missed calls.

//

The roommate interviews a couple of days later are a disaster. Allison has lined up three candidates and Kris is pretty sure at least one of them is on drugs. One of them has a pet python and while Allison thinks that's awesome, Kris doesn't really feel like ending up as a snack for a snake – you never know, really – so he vetoes that one. The third one doesn't even show up.

"Where did you find these people again?" Kris asks after the possible druggie leaves. "I thought you were finding people from school. No way do those people go to Juilliard."

Allison sighs. "I tried, but apparently everyone's pretty happy where they are! I don't get it either. So I had to expand my search. Their ads seemed pretty decent, and I still think pet pythons are cool."

"Pet pythons could eat you for breakfast," Kris says. "I'd rather not have one in my apartment."

"Spoilsport," Allison says. "Now tell me about your guy."

Kris can feel himself blushing. "He's just. Someone I met at the subway station." He realizes that makes him sound kind of slutty. "Some guy stole my guitar and he stopped the thief. I bought him coffee to say thanks."

"Awww! That's all romantic and stuff! So has he called yet?"

Kris moves his phone from one hand to another, sighing. His phone hasn't left his side since he left Adam's apartment – it's constantly charged and he doesn't even silence it during the night anymore. Still, there's been no sign from Adam. "No. But, you know, he's probably busy. And I'm sure there's probably some stupid rule about not calling somebody until day whatever. I can wait a little bit for him." Kris isn't sure if he's trying to convince Allison or himself.

Allison looks at him sympathetically. "If he doesn't call you, he totally doesn't deserve you."

It's a sweet sentiment, but it doesn't make Kris feel much better.

//

In another three days Adam still hasn't called. Kris goes out to play every day but he's distracted, forgetting the lyrics to songs. Happy songs seem completely impossible to sing so he switches to the ones about heartbreak and misery, pouring all of his emotions into them. People seem to like it, though – apparently most people can relate to heartache – but Kris can't bring himself to care.

He feels stupid and naïve and hurt for letting himself get swept up in some stupid fantasy where chance encounters and amazing sex and a common love of music somehow amount to true love or something, but he still can't help looking through the crowd for Adam. Kris pictures Adam, laughing and walking somewhere with his friends, maybe laughing at Kris, and the thought of that hurts more than anything else. He doesn't know what he would do if he actually happened to see him somewhere, whether he would risk even more rejection or not.

He doesn't see Adam, so it's a moot point.

Allison keeps interviewing people; sometimes Kris makes it and sometimes he doesn't, but none of the people seem to work out. They only have a few days to figure it out, and the worry makes him feel sick. He doesn't want to move; he doesn't want Allison to have to move, but if they don't find someone, they're going to be out of options.

//

Two days later, Kris is heading out to his pitch and his phone rings. He no longer jumps at the sound, and when he checks the caller this time, he's not surprised to see it's Allison.

"Hey, Alli," he says and fixes his grip on his guitar.

"Did he call yet?" Allison asks, and Kris regrets the day he ever told her about Adam – although to her he's still _Kris' mystery man_, since Kris hasn't been much in a sharing mood lately – since she's taken to using some variation of _so, did he call?_ as her greeting whenever she calls.

"No," Kris says. "Honestly, I don't think he will, so you can stop asking."

"I'm sorry," she says, sounding genuinely sad. "You seemed so excited about it, I just really wanted it to work out."

"Me too," Kris says, "But please tell me you didn't call me just to talk about this?"

"Nah," Allison says. "Just to let you know I got in another interview today. It's at three, can you make it?"

Kris thinks about it, but the weather is nice, so the likelihood of people stopping to listen is high, and he had planned on a long day instead of a short one. "Not today, but hey, as long as they don't have pets that can eat you and don't look like drug users-"

"-or dealers," Allison adds.

"Or dealers," Kris agrees, "We should probably go for them. Use your judgment, but we're seriously running out of time."

"I know. Cross your fingers, okay? Or toes, if crossing your fingers makes it hard to play guitar."

Kris smiles. "Will do. And hey, thanks for doing this, Allison. I know you're busy with school, too."

"Whatever," Allison says, but she sounds pleased. "Go play, and be awesome! I'll find us a roommate."

When Kris is heading home later that night he checks his phone and finds a text message from Allison. _told ya! found us a roommate and he's AWESOME and moving in tomorrow. no creepy pets!!! or drugs._ Kris sighs. He's relieved they finally have someone to split the rent with, but he's going to miss it just being him and Allison.

Kris' phone chirps with another text message. _p.s. he's also totally cute. so not your type tho sorry!!!_ Kris has to laugh – he's had more than enough of guys for one go with the whole Adam thing, and he could use a little time to lick his wounds and teach himself that nothing good comes out of letting his imagination run wild like he had.

//

The next day their new roommate is moving in, and Kris is pretty grateful that Allison managed to find someone who could move in right away, since they were really running out of time. It's a Saturday, so Allison doesn't have to be at school, and she and Kris spend the morning tidying up the apartment and clearing out the rest of their stuff from the extra room. Kris dumps his things in a corner of his bedroom, figuring he'll sort it out after he gets back.

"I'm really sorry I can't be here helping with the move," he tells Allison. He's actually sort of relieved because honestly, nobody enjoys moving, but he feels guilty about not helping, anyway. "I'll bring pizza on the way back, though."

"You better, you lazy bastard," Allison says, but she's laughing. "It'll be fine, we can totally handle it. Archie's coming over, and he said he'd bring Cook, too." She pauses. "Loads of meat and cheese on the pizza, okay?"

Kris grins. "You got it."

He does well playing, that day, and there's barely a line at the pizza place. He orders three huge ones and gets drinks, too. It's been a good day and he's feeling more like himself, and he hums happy songs on the way home. When he opens the door to their apartment, there's loud laughter coming from inside and he smiles. Things are looking up.

"I'm home!" he yells. "And I brought food."

Allison bounds over, smiling hugely. "Kris! Sweet! We're all moved in, Archie and Cook helped and Michael from next door did, too. Come on! Bring the pizza, and come meet Adam!"

//

This is not happening to Kris. He simply refuses to believe it. It's _stupid_. This kind of thing doesn't happen to _anybody_. And still, even after some extensive blinking on his part – and a subtle pinch on his arm – Adam is still standing in their apartment, tall and looking even better than Kris remembered.

At least Kris gets some satisfaction out of the fact that Adam looks about as shell-shocked as Kris feels.

"Allison," Kris says, jaw set. Adam is fidgeting with one of the rings on his fingers, and Kris tries very hard not to think about the fact that those fingers have been inside him. "Can I talk to you?"

He doesn't wait for Allison to reply. He drops the pizza boxes on a chair and drags the confused-looking Allison with him into his room, closing the door behind him, leaning against it, eyes closed. He kind of feels like he just escaped from something.

"Kris, what's wrong?" Allison sounds worried, now. "I swear, I asked about the pets, and okay, I didn't exactly make him pee in a cup but I'm pretty sure he's not on dru-"

"That's him," Kris interrupts Allison, opening his eyes and looking at her. "That's the guy."

Allison's eyes are huge. "What?! That's not- No way! You're messing with me. I found him on Craigslist, his brother put up this ad, it was really funny, about how he's putting his brother up for grabs..." Allison trails off. "Kris, please tell me you're just messing with me."

"I really wish I was," Kris says and goes to sit on his bed. "But that's the guy. Did you sign papers?" he asks.

Allison nods slowly. "I'm sorry, Kris. I had no idea."

Kris takes a deep breath. It really isn't Allison's fault; Kris never told her anything about Adam, not his name, not anything. "You couldn't have known," he tells her. "It'll be fine," he goes on. "Just a little bit awkward." He smiles at Allison. "Don't worry."

"You're such a shitty liar, Kris," Allison sighs and hugs him before going back out. Kris sits on his bed quietly for a few minutes, looking at the mountain of stuff sitting in the corner of his room, and then gets up.

So Adam didn't call him. Big deal. Kris may have been hoping for something more, but apparently to Adam he had been just a one night stand. Kris can be grown-up about this.

Before he can open the door to go back out, there's a knock on it. Kris opens the door and comes face to face – well, with the height difference and Adam's boots it's more like face to chest – with Adam.

"I swear I'm not a crazy stalker person," Adam starts off, rushed.

"No," Kris says, "If you were you probably would have called me." He hates the way he sounds cold and detached, but he can't make himself pretend to be okay.

Adam winces. "I'm sorry," he says. "I shouldn't have let-"

"Let's just forget about it," Kris says, interrupting Adam. "I was hoping you'd call, and you didn't. That's really all there is to it." Well that, and the crazy longing he gets when he looks at Adam, even when Kris is pissed off at him, but Kris thinks it's best to leave that alone. "We can be adults about this."

"Kris..." Adam begins to say.

"Look, I really don't want to hear it."

Adam's face falls. "I'm sorry," he says, and goes back out. After a while Kris can hear Archie, Cook and Johns leaving, and he feels bad about having made things awkward for them, too.

//

Life at the apartment turns into what Kris thinks the Cold War must have been like. Kris and Adam are carefully avoiding each other, and Allison sulks because apparently she really liked Adam when she first met him but she thinks she now has to hate him out of some sense of loyalty to Kris. However, she keeps forgetting that she's supposed to not like Adam, and if her constant changes of mood around Adam weren't so sad to watch, they would be kind of hilarious, Kris thinks.

Kris wishes that had Adam turned out to be a worse roommate than he is so he'd have a valid reason to be annoyed with him. Apparently the mess he'd witnessed at Adam and Neil's place was either all Neil or a freak occurrence, because around their apartment Adam is actually really neat. Sure, the products on the bathroom counters have about tripled since Adam moved in, but that's pretty much the only place where you can tell there are three of them living in the apartment.

Adam is also annoyingly considerate - if he drinks the last of the orange juice he'll replace it later, he washes his dishes right after using them instead of leaving them in the sink _and_ he takes out the trash.

"Look, it's okay if you want to be friends with him," Kris says one night when Adam is out and he and Allison are watching TV and eating Chinese take-out. "I don't want you being miserable." He cuts himself off before he adds the _too_ that wants to follow that sentence.

"I just wish that you could get along better," Allison mourns and picks up some noodles with her chopsticks. "Why can't the two of you just, like, talk or something?"

"There's nothing to talk about," Kris says. "He turned out to be something other than I expected. It happens." He shrugs, hoping it looks more casual than he feels.

"But-"

"Let it go, Allison," Kris says and nudges her calf with his foot. "It's okay. Really. Could you hand me a spring roll?"

//

Cook comes over one night, bringing a six-pack and his guitar with him. He and Kris take over the living room, spreading out, drinking beers and playing songs. Cook is in the middle of playing one of his originals when Kris notices Adam.

Adam wasn't home earlier, and he's wearing his stage make-up so Kris supposes he's just come back from a show. His hand has stopped on his room door's handle and he's looking at Kris and Cook, a sad expression on his face.

Kris knows if he were in Adam's place and came into a room where there were people playing music, he would want to join in, too. Besides, he remembers the feeling of exclusion he'd had when he came home the other night to find Adam and Allison laughing in the bathroom, doing... whatever, with all the jars and tubes of hair products and make-up in their bathroom. (Allison had tried to tell him once what the various things were for, but he kind of tuned her out after a while. It's not like he was ever going to need to know the proper amount of hairgel to use, or whatever.)

Allison had stopped pasting rhinestones on Adam's face for long enough to ask Kris to join them, and Adam had agreed, excitedly offering to do Kris' hair for him ("It'll look _amazing_, I promise!"). Kris had declined, even though Adam's hopeful expression had made it hard, but he did think it had been nice of them to at least try to include him.

He's just about to ask Adam to join them, but he hesitates for a moment too long, and before he can open his mouth, Adam is already heading into his room, shoulders a little hunched. Kris notices he leaves the door a little bit ajar, and Kris assumes it's so he can hear the music better.

Kris looks away, trying to focus on Cook's song again, but he can't help feeling like a jerk.

//

Kris and Adam are in the small kitchen the next morning, blearily waiting for the coffee to finish percolating. Adam is barefoot, in just sweatpants and a t-shirt. It's rare that Kris sees him without make-up but he's scrubbed clean now, and Kris purposefully does not let himself look at the freckles on Adam's face for too long.

It annoys Kris that he simply can't seem to stop finding Adam attractive, no matter how much he tries. It seems impossible that they're the same people who had such easy conversation when they first met, when having Adam near him now feels like someone is winding Kris up like a guitar string, just tightening and tightening until he feels like he's going to snap.

"So are you dating Cook?" Adam asks suddenly, sounding like maybe he'd been rolling around the sentence in his head for a long time before finally blurting it out, and Kris blinks, trying to process all the ways in which that sentence is so wrong. First off, he's pretty sure that during the move Cook hit it off with Johns from next door, and secondly...

"How is that your business?" Kris snaps. "Why do you even care?"

Adam flinches, and Kris feels a slight twinge of regret, but it's overshadowed by his general annoyance at just about everything about this situation. "I just-" Adam starts, but Kris honestly doesn't care.

"Whatever. I don't get why it would matter, but I'm not," Kris says and fills out his mug with coffee. He goes to his room, brushing past a sleepy and confused looking Allison without so much as a "morning", and drinks his coffee while he thinks wistfully back to the days where he considered himself to be a pretty nice guy, instead of this bristly person he seems to turn into whenever he's around Adam.

He misses nice Kris.

//

Allison, apparently, does too. "Enough," she announces one night when she manages to catch both Kris and Adam in the same room. "This whole thing is stupid! We're roommates, we should be able to all be friends!"

Kris tries to ignore Adam's hopeful look in his direction.

Allison continues. "Board game night. Just the three of us, and pizza, and crazy amounts of booze. Sound good?"

She's using the tone that brooks no argument, so Kris finds himself reluctantly nodding. Adam grins. "What are we playing?"

They order pizza and Allison decides she will be the one to get the alcohol, leaving Kris and Adam alone to set up Scrabble. There's not really a lot to set up, so they sit around awkwardly, until Adam says, "Thanks for agreeing to this."

Kris shrugs. "I don't really know how to say no to Allison," he says.

Adam grins. "I can see how that would be. Girl's a freaking dynamo."

They're quiet for a while again, but it feels less tense. Kris looks at Adam from the corner of his eye; no matter how mad he might be at Adam, Kris usually can't help himself when Adam's around. He's just too damn gorgeous to ignore, Kris thinks, and can't help but chuckle a little when he remembers what Allison texted him about Adam before all this. _So not your type_.

"What's funny?" Adam asks curiously, and Kris is considering actually telling him when Allison returns, carrying two boxes of wine and a bottle of vodka.

Kris' eyes go big. "Are you serious?"

Allison shrugs. "It's not like it'll even get a chance to go bad," she says and goes to stick the vodka in the freezer. She brings over glasses and fills them up with wine. "To roommates," she takes a glass and raises it, and Kris and Adam do the same. Kris can feel Adam's eyes on him.

"To roommates," Kris says, and Adam echoes it next to him.

"Alright!" Allison grins happily and settles down in front of the Scrabble board, "Let's play."

After several glasses of wine, too many slices of pizza – Adam insisted on paying for the pizza, which was yet another annoyingly sweet thing to do – and a playful argument about whether or not "glam" was an acceptable word, they are actually sort of getting along. The wine is making Kris' skin feel warm and flushed, and he's relaxed and happy.

Adam ends up winning Scrabble – apparently he has a crazy vocabulary, even if on occasion the wine makes him misspell things (one of Kris' favorite misspellings happened when Adam happily piled all his tiles on the board and proudly organized them to spell out "tommorow"). They're gathering up the game pieces and laughing when Allison's phone goes off. "It's my mom," she says, making a face.

"Don't worry, Alli, we've got this," Adam says, waving her off. Allison grins and takes the call to her room, while Kris lies on his back on the floor and thinks idly how nice it is to be included in a _we_.

Adam laughs – scratch that, that's more of a giggle, Kris thinks and grins – next to him. Kris turns on his side to look at Adam, who's closer than he had expected. The wine has stained his mouth dark and Kris licks his lips.

"On a scale of one to pants, how drunk are you right now?" Adam asks Kris. "I think I'm at pants."

"Me too," Kris says, even though that totally doesn't make sense. "Hey Adam."

"Mmmm?" Adam makes an inquisitive noise and Kris stops thinking, leans in and kisses Adam.

//

The sun is bright on Kris' face, waking him up much too soon. He feels groggy and when he tries to move he wonders when he got on a boat because everything, including the bed, seems to be moving. He remembers the wine a moment later, mostly because he can taste it in his mouth-

Hang on.

Kris doesn't _get_ morning sun in his room.

Behind him, Adam nuzzles his face against the back of Kris' neck and slides a freckled arm around Kris' chest, pulling him closer. His breath is steady and warm against Kris' skin, his palm is spread over Kris' heart and Kris decides it's too early and too comfortable to deal with a hangover _and_ a freakout right then. Both will come far too soon, anyway. He burrows his face against one of Adam's pillows and falls back asleep.

When he wakes up next, Adam is awake and sitting at the foot of the bed, head in his hands. He's put on pants Kris is pretty sure he didn't have on the night before, but other than that he's not wearing anything.

"I got you water," Adam says quietly when he finally realizes Kris is awake. Kris looks at the nightstand and sure enough there's a tall glass of water and two aspirin just sitting there. Kris downs both gratefully and sits up, groaning at the wave of nausea.

"So," Kris says.

"I really did want to call you," Adam says quickly. "I swear. Can I please just explain?"

Kris sighs. If he doesn't let Adam talk, the whole thing is apparently never going to go away. He nods a little, regretting moving his head instantly.

"I told you about my jerk of a boyfriend, right?" Adam starts, and then stops. "Actually, I should go back further. See, when I was living in L.A. I didn't- I wasn't really comfortable in my own skin. I felt ugly and fat and it just wasn't all that great."

Kris frowns. It doesn't sound like fun, and he's sorry Adam had to deal with that, but he's not sure what this has to do with anything.

"I met Joe when he was on vacation, and I was so happy that someone would actually settle for me... we sort of fell into this long distance relationship, and it was fine because I had this great excuse for not taking chances on other guys. I was _in a relationship_," Adam says, sounding derisive. "I was in a rut, is what I was," he continues. "But I got this job offer, a job in New York, and I was so happy, you know? I'd finally get to be with Joe, have a _real_ relationship. So I packed up everything and I moved in with him, and…"

Adam pauses, seemingly considering something. "You know how in a relationship it's supposed to be, like, two people compromising, and complementing each other? Like, that's the ideal?" He looks at Kris expectantly and Kris nods. "With Joe, I was always the one making the compromises. I was constantly changing into something I wasn't and I hated it, but when I wasn't with him, I was finally figuring out who I was. Around that time I found out that he wasn't exactly being faithful, either," Adam says, shrugging. "He was kind of a jerk, like I said. But _finally_ this realization that he wasn't the one who was settling, that _I_ was, just hit me, and I ended it with him and moved in with Neil, and. I really, really promised myself I'd give myself _me_ time, you know? No dating, nothing."

Adam's point is finally starting to dawn on Kris. "You slept with me, though."

Adam shrugs sheepishly. "You were so cute when I saw you playing your guitar, and then we got along so well when I met you again... And then you just _got_ me, after, like, five minutes in a way that Joe never did. I knew it was a bad idea but I just couldn't help myself. And then you left me your number and- I'm so awful when I've just woken up, I get all cuddly and affectionate and shit. I should never have let you give me your number. I'm so sorry that I wasn't honest with you."

Kris' face burns with embarrassment. Adam didn't want anything more then, he doesn't want anything more _now_... and Kris just slept with him for the second time. He feels dirty, and wishes he was wearing clothes. He tugs the sheet higher.

Adam doesn't seem to notice. "But Kris, I really wanted to call. You don't even know, every time I took my phone out I would just stare at your number. But I was pretty sure you'd forget about me soon enough, I never even thought we'd end up as _roommates_."

"That part was pretty damn freaky," Kris says. "Last night... we were really drunk, so. I should." He gestures at the door. "But, um. Thanks for the explanation, I guess?"

Adam looks at Kris sadly but nods. He reaches for the scattered clothes on the floor and gives Kris his pants. Kris squirms into them and leaves the room quickly, hoping to avoid Allison. The door to her room is thankfully shut, and Kris successfully makes it to his room and falls down on his own bed, staring up at the ceiling, eyes huge. His life is bizarre.

His phone goes off and he finds it on top of his guitar case. It's early on a Sunday and he can't think who could be calling, and when it's a number he doesn't recognize, worst case scenarios about his parents run through his mind and he answers quickly, "Kris Allen."

"Hi, Kris. It's Adam."

Kris blinks. "Adam? Why are you calling- I thought it was the hospital or something," he says, but when the worry starts to subside he finds himself grinning.

"Nope," Adam says. "I was just wondering if you were maybe free for dinner sometime. Or lunch. Or drinks. Whatever you want. Because I had a really great time with you, and I'd really like to see you again."

"Yeah? I heard somewhere you weren't dating at the moment," Kris says. He isn't about to let Adam off easy. Well, not _too_ easy, anyway.

"Maybe I'd like to change that?" Adam says, and then, dropping the pretense, he says, "I'm really sorry, Kris. Can you give me a chance?"

Kris considers for a moment, and finally comes to a decision. He may have gotten swept up in the chance meetings, but maybe it wasn't such a bad thing, and maybe he wasn't the only one after all. "I'm not doing anything now," he says. "You know; if you wanted to come over."

There's a knock on his door a few seconds later and Kris grins, hanging up his phone. He goes to open the door and there's Adam, exactly like Kris knew he would be, looking hung over but smiling.

"I'm glad you called," Kris says, feeling kind of giddy and, oddly, nervous.

"Me, too," Adam says, and then he's cupping Kris' cheek and leaning in to kiss him, slow and sweet. It feels like an introduction to something big that's about to start, and Kris can't wait.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading. All feedback is loved and cherished! You can leave some here, or [here at my LJ](http://adelate.livejournal.com/1557227.html).
> 
> Please don't forget my amazing artist [speep](http://speep.livejournal.com)! You can [give her feedback here at her LJ](http://speep.livejournal.com/221531.html).


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